Disclaimer: The following post is Amp's opinions and does not represent SoldierX. At the same time, I will reiterate that these posts are covered by this site's usage policy.
Here's the scenario. We have an individual who is essentially unemployed. On a regular basis, he is spouting off opinions and theories that are extreme, and in some cases outright insane. He has a neck-beard and a hairstyle that suggests questionable grooming habits at best. Most importantly, he has not contributed much of anything in recent years. In most scenario, individuals like this would be reviled and mocked heavily online. So why the fuck are we giving a free pass to Richard Stallman when he has essentially become this type of individual in recent years?
I understand being passionate about topics, but the reality is that more flies are attracted to honey than vinegar. So why the hell is he taking extremist actions and making insane comments. You don't just condemn a whole company cause you don't like one small aspect of their business like Amazon and Apple. If he wants to take such an extreme stance, he should stop allowing the Linux Kernel to be used with the GNU project since he has stated open distaste of a couple of aspects of that kernel. The last time I checked, such behavior was called hypocrisy and Stallman is guilty of this.
In addition, what he fails to understand is that there is a place for proprietary software. Speaking as a developer who wishes to be able to put food on the table for both himself and his family I do wish to be able to make a good living doing what I like to do. In addition, some of the best products in computing has come out as a direct result of good old fashioned competition. This is a rather shocking idea to some people, but there's this idea called capitalism which when used correctly, allows for better products to be created and can allow for both free and proprietary solutions to improve and benefit in the long run.
Furthermore, his recent actions and behaviors are starting to hurt the very cause that he is attempting to champion. The best example of this was his protest of ATI as I wish to examine a picture from that:
First, the long neck-beard and unkempt appearance makes him difficult to take seriously to anybody who doesn't know who he is. Second, calling ATI the enemy blindly and not saying why of what you want just hurts your purpose. Hell, changing that sign to say something to the effect of "ATI needs to be more open with its source" would have been MUCH better even though it would have sounded a bit lame. Last, but not least, he's acting alone, which makes him look crazy. If you want to push for a cause, you need to rally support and make your message more palatable or you'll just drive people away.
The fact of the matter is that if this was anybody OTHER than Stallman, the following would happen. He would be considered amongst the many basement-dwellers who don't understand the concept of being a productive member of society. In addition, he would probably be trolled significantly and pranked for his opinions to no end. As I have not seen much of anything worthwhile come from his influence or involvement, Stallman needs to get the hell over himself, grow the hell up, get a haircut, get rid of the neck-beard, and do something productive with his life so that maybe I can take him seriously for the first time in the past five years.